Create your perfect electronics test bench: entry-level

Working with electronics is easier with the right test equipment, but it needs to match your needs and experience. Here's where to start.

By Rudy Ramos, Mouser Electronics

Whether you’re an electronics
hobbyist or involved in cutting-edge new product design, it’s essential that you
have the right test equipment. Most test benches contain a range of testing
equipment that’s been handed down through
generations or shared between technicians.
This means that the equipment being
used for a given purpose isn’t always the best option.

Choosing the right test equipment isn’t
about picking the tool with the most features or highest price tag, however. It’s
about choosing something appropriate for your testing needs and electronics
experience.

We’ve put together this guide to
help you make the best possible choices when selecting equipment. We’ll look at
some core pieces of testing equipment, something to think about when you’re
buying, and how your equipment should
evolve as you become more skilled and your requirements become more
sophisticated.

Here’s the core equipment that
should be part of your electronics test bench regardless of level:

Multimeters: Sometimes called a volt-ohm-milliammeter,
or VOM, the multimeter is a core part of the electronics bench. It enables you
to check a range of measurements, including AC and DC voltage (V), resistance,
continuity, and direct current (DC). You need to choose one that meets your
needs, is easy to use, and is accurate.

Power supplies: Whether you’re
looking to deliver power to a circuit you’ve
just designed, or any board, a reliable DC power source is essential. These
deliver a reliable voltage and are often settable, enabling you to develop and
test circuits in a variety of conditions.

Soldering stations: These allow you to create circuits by linking up components and to repair PCBs. As a minimum,
a soldering station needs a power unit, soldering pencil, a stand, and a sponge
(for cleaning the soldering tip).

Oscilloscopes: Sometimes called “O-scopes,”
these measure changes in electrical signals over time and display them as
waveforms that showcase information such as the rise time, distortion,
frequency, amplitude, and noise.

Accessories: These include different
hand tools and supplies that help keep you safe and make your testing work
easier.

Fig.
1: A relatively basic electronics bench setup is often all you need for many
repairs to printed circuit boards.

While
every test bench should have these types of equipment, there are many options
available for each type, varying in such things as cost, precision, and feature
set. The best combination will depend on the level at which you are working.

A “basic,” or entry-level, test
bench is perfect for students and hobbyists who tinker with a broad range of electronics — from audio to
robotics. If this sounds like you, then an
entry-level test bench should be adequate. The test equipment should be easy to use and not create any
barriers that slow your progress. It goes
without saying, of course, that the equipment must meet your testing
needs.

Here’s what you should be considering:

Entry-level multimetersFor basic test benches, a handheld
digital multimeter (DMM) is ideal. They’re portable
and affordable while being simpler to read and more accurate than analog
versions because there’s no chance for parallax error when taking readings. Parallax
error is the perceived change in the position of something when you look at it
from different angles, as can happen with a needle on a meter. The lack
of moving parts in a DMM also means that they’re typically more robust than
analog meters. Lastly, DMMs don’t require you to calculate exact values.

When choosing a handheld DMM, consider
what display resolution you need and how many digits it can show. Also, look to
see if there are other features. Can it measure true root mean square (RMS) AC volts?
Can it measure temperature?

Entry-level power suppliesFor basic test benches, we suggest that
you go for a switch-mode DC power supply (SMPS). This has a switching regulator that controls the conversion from AC
power to DC. While SMPSs usually generate high-frequency noise that may affect
nearby sensitive electronics, their benefits for basic test bench needs generally outweigh this drawback.

Other SMPS advantages include the
fact that they’re smaller and lighter than linear power supplies and are more
efficient, meaning that they don’t heat up as much as linear versions.

It’s a good idea to choose a
variable-voltage supply that can deliver up to 10 A and 30 V. This will ensure that you have sufficient
capacity to cover a range of power requirements.

Entry-level soldering stationsFor a basic bench, go for something
with a variable temperature control, up to the 450–550°C range. Analog
temperature control should be okay for
most people, but if you do want very high precision, there are digital options
available, too.

Entry-level oscilloscopesFor many hobbyists or electronics
students who need to test circuits, a handheld DMM is sufficient. But when you start
to debug and troubleshoot circuits or
work with signals involving fast
circuits, pulse signals, or buses, an oscilloscope becomes extremely useful.

Oscilloscopes are on the pricey side
compared to other entry-level test bench gear, so unless you need to troubleshoot a circuit (rather than
just measure it), it needn’t be at the top of your shopping list. If you do
need one, though, go for a portable product, such as Seeed Studio’s DSO Nano
V3, a 32-bit digital storage O-scope with a built-in
signal generator.

Fig. 2: Oscilloscopes are not always necessary in an
entry-level test bench, but if they are needed, the DSC Nano V3 from Seeed
Studio is a good choice.

Entry-level accessoriesTo round off your test bench setup,
get yourself an electrostatic mat and wrist strap to ground yourself and
protect the components you’re working on from electrostatic discharge. Also have tools such as wire cutters
and strippers, crimpers, tweezers, and screwdrivers readily available.

The
products recommended here, or equivalent units from other vendors, are suitable
for the relatively undemanding requirements of the hobbyist, beginning student,
and tinkerer. If you’re an educator, electronics maintenance and repair
professional, or a more advanced hobbyist or student, however, you’ll need a
more sophisticated test bench. And for those working at the top end of
electronics design, certified electronics professionals, or anyone needing to
guarantee their repair work or needing to comply with standards, a top-end test
bench is a must-have. We’ll discuss mid-level and top-end test bench
requirements in a follow-on article.